Josiah Jordan leads West Reading to second straight California victory
The West Reading All-Stars used another balanced scoring effort Thursday to win their second straight game in California.
Recent Berks Catholic grad Josiah Jordan scored 13 points and was among five double-digit scorers in a 73-47 victory over Elk Grove at Franklin High School.
West Reading is 2-0 on its Cultural Exchange swing through Northern California, with two games scheduled Friday.
Wilson grad Aidan Melograna and Reece Garvin, a rising senior at Exeter, also scored 13 points in Thursday’s win. Aiden Dauble, a rising sophomore at Exeter, and Danny Fleischood, a rising sophomore at Wyomissing, each scored 11 points.
Elk Grove, playing in the Sacramento-area Delta League, finished 11-16 last season.
West Reading plays in the Franklin Tournament Friday, with games against Ponderosa and Franklin. Ponderosa, of Shingle Springs, Ca., will be West Reading’s toughest challenge to date; the Bruins went 22-10 last season, going unbeaten in winning the Foothill Valley Conference. Franklin finished 10-18 last season.
Jordan was named Most Valuable Player in the Ron Krick Memorial League last summer, leading Berks Packing to the championship. He shared the scoring lead as a senior at Berks Catholic, helping the Saints go 23-5 and win a second straight District 3 Class 4A championship.
Jordan and recent Fleetwood grad Jake Karnish are West Reading’s co-captains. Karnish will play basketball at King’s College; Jordan will play football at Wilkes University.
The 10-player West Reading team includes two other recent grads –Jovan Hollis of Antietam and Mark Rajnath of Schuylkill Valley — as well as rising juniors Andrew Galantuomo of Gov. Mifflin and Madyx Gruber of Wilson.
Former Holy Name coach Tony Balistrere is the head coach; his staff includes Wilson assistant coach Jeff Ebner and Ron Krick Memorial League co-director Randy Hinsey.
As part of the trip the players and coaches will see sites throughout the Sacramento and San Francisco areas during their week-long stay in California.
The West Reading Summer League celebrated the 50th anniversary of the cultural exchange last summer when Franklin High visited Berks County for several games.